Mazda Motor Corporation

Ken-ichi Okuda

Tohru Yoshioka

Tomohiko Adachi

Hiroki Uemura

Yasunori Yamamoto

Ayumu Doi

Tadayuki Niibe

Satoshi Morioka

Tetsuro Butsuen

Naotsugu Masuda

When information of an obstacle is not outputted from a radar device, a presumption device presumes at least a present value of a distance between a vehicle and the obstacle based on information in a memory part obtained until the time, and a contact-possibility judgment device judges a possibility of contact of the vehicle with the obstacle based on the information from the presumption device. A detection device is provided for detecting conditions at the time when the information of the obstacle is not outputted from the radar device, for example, a relation of relative position of the obstacle to the vehicle. Further, a restriction device is provided for restricting the presumption by the presumption device according to the relation of relative position. Thus, a possibility of contact of the vehicle with the obstacle running forward of the vehicle is appropriately judged and mis-operations of an alarm, an automatic braking and the like are prevented, while ensuring running safety.

Vehicle run safety apparatus

A method to determine a horizontal error of a radar device mounted on a vehicle along with the mounting error or imbalance in the diameters of wheels based on an echo signal from a reflector provided on a road. A vehicle's traveling locus is stored in advance as a reference locus obtained from the distance L between the vehicle and reflector and the direction .theta..sub.R. A traveling locus when the vehicle is actually traveling in a straight line where the steering handle is kept in a neutral position is compared with the previously stored reference locus. A horizontal error is obtained from the traveling locus on the coordinate axis .theta..sub.R and the shift from the reference locus.

Detection and calibration of horizontal error in a scanning type radar

An obstacle sensing apparatus for vehicles which enables efficient obstacle sensing and improves sensing precision. The apparatus comprises a section for predicting a deduced traveling-passage on which the vehicle will travel, based on a steering angle, a yaw rate and a velocity of the vehicle, a section having a CCD camera, for detecting a current traveling-passage on which the vehicle is currently moving, a scanning-type radar unit for sensing obstacles within a predetermined area, and a danger level judging section for judging danger levels of the sensed obstacles, based on the deduced traveling-passage and the current traveling-passage. The danger level judging section sets the danger level of the obstacle sensed within an area, where the deduced traveling-passage and the current traveling-passage overlap with each other, to the highest danger level; the obstacle sensed in an area within the current traveling-passage and without the deduced traveling-passage, to an intermediate danger level; the obstacle sensed in an area within the deduced traveling-passage and without the current traveling-passage, to a lower danger level; and the obstacle sensed in an area without the current and deduced traveling-passages, to the lowest danger level.

Obstacle sensing apparatus for vehicles

An obstacle detection apparatus for a motor vehicle detects another vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle as an obstacle. The apparatus has a first unit, providing a course on which the vehicle is supposed to travel, a second unit, providing a reserve course located outside of the course, an obstacle detector detecting the other vehicle traveling in the course or the reserve course as an obstacle, and an obstacle detection continuation unit continuously detecting the other vehicle until a predetermined condition has been satisfied when the other vehicle moves from the course to the reserve course.

Obstacle detection system for motor vehicle

An obstacle sensing apparatus for vehicles is provided in which detection of obstacles is performed efficiently by predicting the traveling path of the vehicle appropriately when detection of obstacles by a radar unit is limited to a region along the traveling path. The apparatus is provided with a radar unit for transmitting radar waves ahead of the vehicle and sensing obstacles present ahead of the vehicle, a steering angle sensor for sensing the steering angle of the vehicle, and a yaw rate sensor for sensing the yaw rate produced by the vehicle. First traveling-path predicting device predicts a traveling path of the vehicle based upon the steering angle, and second traveling-path predicting device predicts a traveling path of the vehicle based upon the yaw rate. One of these traveling paths is selected in dependence upon the operating state of the vehicle and detection of articles by the radar unit is carried out within a limited region along the traveling path selected.

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Hatsukaichi, Japan

Ken-ichi Okuda